Several adventurers who were drinking turned around, their expressions subtle.
A newly registered Black Iron Rank rookie was asking a beautiful expert with a Platinum Rank nameplate to “carry” him?
Where was his shame?
More importantly, how did he have the nerve? If he annoyed her, she might just kill him!
Loviki was also stunned for a moment.
She looked the young man up and down. He seemed to be around the same age as her, dressed in ordinary casual clothes, with a brand-new Black Iron Rank nameplate hanging at his waist.
His mana fluctuations were very weak; she couldn’t tell his exact level.
He was probably around Level 10 or so.
“Are you sure?” Loviki asked. “I’m only passing through Linyu Port. I won’t be staying long.”
“That’s fine.” Chen Mian shook the commission slip in his hand. “It’s just a Trainee Rank mission to clear sewer slimes. It’s a bit boring to do alone; it’ll be faster with two people.”
Loviki fell silent for two seconds, a flash of astonishment in her eyes. “…Fine.”
Chen Mian smiled. “Thanks. Let’s go.”
The two walked out of the guild.
The guild hall fell into a deathly silence.
A moment later, it erupted into a cacophony of shouts.
“No way!! On what grounds?!”
“Why did she actually agree?!”
“Damn it, next time I see a beauty like that, I’m going to ask her to carry me too!”
...
In a secluded alley.
Chen Mian walked ahead, while Loviki intentionally trailed half a step behind. “You said I was being followed?”
“Yeah, you have a mark on you.” Chen Mian said as he walked toward the slime subjugation site, glancing at his map.
“How do you know?”
“I saw it.”
Loviki frowned; that answer was far too dismissive.
The two turned into an even narrower alley, flanked by high stone walls, with only a sliver of sky visible above. This was the edge of Linyu Port’s old town, a place rarely visited by people, where the air was thick with a damp, musty smell.
“We’re here.” Chen Mian stopped.
Ahead was a rusted iron gate, half-open. Beyond it was pitch black, with the faint sound of dripping water echoing from within.
A bronze plaque was nailed to the gate frame: 【Linyu Port Sewers · Entrance No. 3】.
Loviki looked at the dark entrance, her brow furrowing deeper.
“You live here?”
“You’re the one who lives in a sewer,” Chen Mian replied irritably as he pushed open the iron gate.
He pulled a fluorescent stone from his storage space, and its white glow illuminated the surrounding few meters.
Old-fashioned lighting... how nostalgic.
“Let’s go.”
Loviki took a deep breath and followed him inside.
The air in the sewer was damp and cold, mixed with the scent of decay.
Chen Mian walked ahead with steady steps, while Loviki carefully avoided the puddles and slime on the ground.
After walking about fifty meters, the passage ahead opened up slightly.
Loviki suddenly spoke. “You said earlier that I have a mark on me?”
“On the tips of your hair,” Chen Mian said, holding the fluorescent stone as he moved forward. “A very well-hidden mana attachment.”
Loviki reached out to touch her hair, her fingertips fumbling at the ends for a moment, but she still couldn't detect any magical aura.
“Who could have put a mark on me?” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
“You’d have to ask yourself that.” Chen Mian crouched down, picked up a rice-sized magic core from the ground, and tucked it into his pocket. Not far away, the corpse of a slime was melting into a puddle of liquid. “Who did you offend, or who is looking for you?”
Loviki fell silent.
She knew—people from the Lorenz Family, and that so-called “fiancé” from the royal family.
But she didn’t want to say it.
“Why are you helping me?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I’m not helping you.” Chen Mian stood up and continued forward. “I just want to earn some rent.”
“…What?”
“I have spare rooms at my place. If you have nowhere to stay, you can rent from me.”
Loviki looked at his back, a trace of confusion flashing in her ruby eyes. “How much is the rent?”
“No charge.”
“And the conditions?” Her voice took on a hint of wariness.
“Two.” Chen Mian turned around, the white light of the fluorescent stone reflecting off his face, his expression calm. “First, spar with me every day.”
“Spar?” Loviki was stunned. “With you?”
Chen Mian held up two fingers. “Second, teach me swordsmanship.”
Loviki stared at him for two seconds. “Are you joking?”
“I’m serious.”
“You can tell I’m being followed, so your strength shouldn’t be inferior to mine, right?”
“Mhm.”
“What are you after?” she asked, puzzled.
Chen Mian thought for a moment. “Just some company.”
Loviki went silent. She had indeed run away to escape an arranged family marriage.
If this person could really help her evade pursuit and provide a place to stay, she had no reason to refuse.
She just didn't know what his real angle was.
“Then how are you going to help me?”
“I’ll wipe the mark off for you, and then you just stay at my apartment.” Chen Mian toyed with the slime magic core in his hand.
Loviki shook her head. “Within the Hella Kingdom, no one can completely evade the combined pursuit of the Lorenz Family and the royal family.”
Chen Mian smiled and said, “What if the location is deep within the Forest of Death?”
“Your apartment is in the Forest of Death?” Her voice dropped an octave. “That place where even Legendary Rank adventurers don’t dare to venture deep into?”
“Mhm.”
She re-evaluated the man before her. Ordinary casual clothes, ordinary height, ordinary... actually, his features were quite handsome, but that wasn’t the point.
The point was that this man said he lived deep in the Forest of Death.
He was either a madman or a powerhouse.
Judging by his ability to detect the tracking mark and his calm demeanor in her presence, he was most likely the latter.
“Take me to see it,” she said.
“Fine. Let’s wipe the mark first.”
Chen Mian took a step toward her.
Loviki instinctively wanted to retreat, but her feet wouldn’t move. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she suddenly felt a massive surge of mana overflowing from Chen Mian.
It was only for an instant.
But that sense of pressure was enough to suffocate someone.
Mana gathered at his fingertip. He raised his hand and gave a light flick just above the ends of her hair.
Pop.
A tiny sound, like a bubble bursting.
“There.” Chen Mian withdrew his hand and stepped back. “Wait for me to finish the commission first.”
Loviki was speechless.
If that move he just made had been used to attack her...
Was this just some powerhouse’s eccentric hobby? To pretend to be the lowest-tier adventurer and seriously hunt slimes?
However, that display actually dispelled her concerns. If this person truly wanted to harm her, there was no need for him to play along with her like this.
The two continued forward, encountering several more slimes along the way.
Chen Mian killed them with precision using the lowest-level magic, as usual.
If it hadn't been for the mana aura he released just now, one really wouldn't be able to tell he was a powerhouse.
Loviki followed behind him, her jewel-like eyes fixed on his back.
She had seen many powerhouses.
Academy professors, family guards, the kingdom’s Knight Commander... but none of them were like him.
He could clearly crush a slime with one hand, yet he insisted on using the lowest-level magic. Every strike was as precise as if it had been measured with a ruler—not a bit more, not a bit less, just enough to kill one.
This level of control over magic... was terrifying.
Chen Mian stood up and brushed the dust off his hands. “Let’s go. Time to turn in the quest.”
Loviki bit her lip and followed him.
When they stepped out of the sewer, the sunlight made her squint.
Chen Mian went to the guild to turn in the mission. Thirty-seven slime magic cores were exchanged for seven silver coins and forty copper coins.
The receptionist girl looked at the pile of magic cores, then at the F-Rank nameplate at Chen Mian’s waist, looking like she wanted to say something.
“Is there a problem?” Chen Mian asked.
“…No. Here is your reward.” The girl handed over the money, her gaze lingering on his face for two seconds.
An Level 11 rookie got a high-rank adventurer to help him kill thirty-seven slimes in the sewer?
Amazing... did he have some magic to increase his charisma?
“Let’s go.” Chen Mian took the money and turned toward the door.
Loviki followed behind him.
The two walked out of the guild and turned into a deserted alley.
“Let’s go.” Chen Mian placed his hand on her shoulder.
After a moment of warm dizziness, Loviki opened her eyes.
She was standing in an open meadow, surrounded by an endless forest. The trees were so tall they blotted out the sun, their canopies surging like a green ocean in the wind.
The air smelled of grass and earth, with a faint, lingering trace of... mana.
This mana seemed to be coming from the soil?
And right in the center of this forest-enclosed meadow stood a cream-white apartment building.
Chen Mian walked to the door and pressed his hand against a black panel. With a “beep,” the door opened automatically.
“Come in.”
Loviki followed him into the apartment.
The white light overhead was soft, with no mana fluctuations. The floor was made of dark wood.
In the kitchen, there were metal appliances she didn't recognize.
On the living room sofa, a white rabbit was curled up asleep. Hearing the movement, its ears twitched, and it opened one pink eye to glance at her before closing it again.
Loviki’s gaze lingered on the rabbit for a moment.
There were mana fluctuations from the rabbit—it was a magical creature. But its level was very low, making it essentially harmless.
“The first floor is the common area,” Chen Mian’s voice came from ahead. “Kitchen, dining room, living room. The second and third floors are guest rooms.”
“Okay.” Loviki followed him.
As they reached the foot of the stairs, footsteps came from the third floor.
A woman walked down from upstairs.
Her light brown hair was loose, and she wore a light gray cardigan. Her features were exquisite, her skin pale, and pointed ears peeked out from her hair.
An elf.
Those lively eyes widened slightly the moment they saw Loviki. “Mr. Chen Mian, who is this?”
Rate on N.U.
